


So move me, baby

by little_wanderer



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Kyan Reki, Kyan Reki Needs a Hug, Kyan Reki is a Ray of Sunshine, M/M, Other, Pining Hasegawa Langa, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, cannon divergent after episode 9, its all about the pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:08:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30093753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_wanderer/pseuds/little_wanderer
Summary: Before here was man,  before the Earth was yet to be, there was void and stars and nothingness. The nothingness had yet to become something, and held within the strong, delicate hold of nothingness was everything. All of the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of the souls that are not yet something.  It was often that Langa Hasegawa thought he belonged to this particular void in the universe. In this place before expectation and grief.If nothingness was the before, then all of the universes ‘somethingness’ had been put into Reki Kyan.Contrary to what one might think,  Langa Hasegawa does in fact have a soulmate. His mark haphazardly, lovingly,  splashed across his arm had never been of particular concern to him. This was before. Later there would be moving boxes, new schools, skateboarding, and Reki.A Renga Soulmate AU
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki, Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 3
Kudos: 71





	1. As It Was

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!! I have been consumed by Renga brainrot and a desperate need for more content, so here you go! I'd like to thank my wonderful roommate for beta reading! I hope you all enjoy.

Before there was man, before the Earth was yet to be, there was void and stars and nothingness. The nothingness had yet to become something, and held within the strong, delicate hold of nothingness was everything. All of the hopes, dreams, and ambitions of the souls that were not yet something. The time before souls came together and split apart, destined to search for one another in a quest for togetherness. It was often that Langa Hasegawa thought he belonged to this particular void in the universe. In this place before expectation and grief. This was before he had been scorched by the sun and would learn to love sunburns and tattered skin.

  
  


Contrary to what one might think, Langa Hasegawa does in fact have a soulmate. His mark haphazardly, lovingly, splashed across his arm, a bright-colored pair of wings poised mid-flight. Langa’s soulmate was someone who was meant to fly, to bring Langa up into the clouds and bask in the warmth of the sun. When he was a child, he had proudly shown the mark to anyone who would see it, but as he got older and more self-conscious, he began to cover it as many of his classmates did. His concern over finding his soulmate faded into the background in favor of worrying over school assignments, snowboarding, and the tragic death of his father. The bright colors almost seemed to mock his pain— how could anything be so cheerful against the canvas of his grief? So he simply stopped looking for meaning in the splashes of yellow and red. 

Later there would be moving boxes, new schools, skateboarding, and Reki. 

Langa had met Reki on an otherwise unimportant day. He did not find himself nervous about moving to a new town or transferring to a new school; if it would help his mother to be back in Japan, then that’s where they would go. It was simple. Reki, on the other hand, was anything but simple. Reki, with his red hair that _really shouldn’t work, but somehow did_ and his thoughts that ran a million miles an hour found something worth knowing in Langa. Reki, with clear-cut passion and enthusiasm enough to pour into the gaps in Langa’s heart and cement something akin to affection. So when Reki offered to teach him to skate, it was no wonder that Langa had accepted.

  
  


As it turns out, skateboarding was difficult. There was nothing soft about the pavement. It was hot and dirty, Langa often finding himself picking out pebbles and dirt from his wounds. There was nothing forgiving about the concrete, but sprawled upon it Langa found himself the happiest one could be, knees digging into the asphalt and the sun’s laughter painting the colors of the Okinawan sunset. If nothingness was the before, then all of the universe’s ‘somethingness’ had been put into Reki Kyan. Reki, who had sunlight pulsing through his veins and enough charisma to befriend a brick. Now, it was only without him that all the euphoria of skating had vanished.

“Reki, where are you,” Langa whispered, searching desperately in the sea of faces at ‘S’. When Langa had driven past his house on the way to the mine, his window had been open, so he had to be here somewhere. It was now only a matter of finding him. Unfortunately, his race against Joe began all too quickly. Maybe if he won, Reki would be watching. After all, Reki was always there, waiting with warm congratulations and sweet praise. If he kept skating, he would have to watch. 

  
  


Joe was good, as expected of one of the founding members of ‘S’. Joe was incredibly strong and it showed in his skating style, his body the pounding river against rock, creating his world out of strength and willpower. Langa struggled to keep up after Joe’s power break, but managed to use the sprawling scape of the factory to his benefit, just barely crossing the finish line first. Despite the roar of the crowd and the adrenaline of the race, Langa’s heart just wasn’t in it. _Did he have to race Adam to feel the rush?_

“Congrats, kid, that was a good race!” Joe's low timbre washed over him. He’d won— where was Reki? 

“I...Thank you. Have you seen Reki?”

  
  


“I was hoping he’d be here.” Joe scanned the crowd, a small frown appearing at their missing friend. “I don’t know what’s going on with you guys, but you should talk to him. If it’s you two, it’ll be okay.” 

Even under the sweltering lights and crowd, it was almost as if Langa could feel the rain, see the pain in Reki’s eyes from their fight. He was the one who broke the promise, but if Langa could win against Joe without getting hurt, then maybe he could do the same with Adam. He just needed to talk to Reki, to make him understand and then it would all be okay. 

“I’m going to find him,” he decided, putting down his board. He took off, stopping to ask anyone who would answer if they’d seen his best friend. “Excuse me, have you seen a redhead? A little shorter than me, his name is Reki-”

“Oh my god, Snow! That race was amazing!” A small group was forming now. This wasn’t good. He needed to find Reki.

“Thank you, but have you seen Reki?” Shifting from foot to foot, Langa had never been the best at conversation. It wasn’t that Langa hated talking but rather that he couldn’t often find the common ground with his peers. He never quite knew what was the right thing to say, often winding up with his foot firmly in his mouth.

“What, that kid that's always following you around? Nah, I haven’t seen him. Say, do you want to skate with us?” another faceless voice said. That wasn’t right. Reki wasn’t just following him around.

“No thank you, I’ve gotta go.” Is that how people saw Reki? Just some groupie that followed him around ‘S’? _I wouldn’t even be here without Reki._ It’d only been days since their falling out, and despite the scorching weather in Okinawa, Langa could not find the sun. When he was a child just learning to stay upright on a snowboard, the now familiar rush of snowboarding- and now of skateboarding- had wormed its way into his heart. The skills he has pushed into torn muscles and broken bones were now helping him fly through ‘S’, but it wasn’t right without his best friend. 

Langa screeched to a halt by the gates, the dust and dirt of the mines clinging to him, suffocating against the dry air. This was the last place he resigned himself to look. It was the worst case scenario: if the guards had seen Reki, then he’d already left.

“Um, excuse me...Have you seen a redhead around here? He’s a little shorter than me-”

“Oh, Reki?” The guard said, nonchalant like he hadn’t just ruined Langa’s whole night by confirming that Reki’s wasn’t there. “Yeah, he left before the race started. He gave me this. Give it back to him, will you? He’s a good kid. Been coming here for years.” 

In Langa’s hands, a glittering ‘S’ pin sat heavily along with the weight of his best friend's happiness. Why would he leave it? Reki loved ‘S’, loved meeting new people, loved the thrill of the competition. 

Langa did not think about his soulmate, but he did think about Reki. Reki, who now seemed farther away than ever. 

  
  



	2. From Eden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am both excited and nervous for ep 10...Anyways, here's a lil something for everyone!

Reki didn’t show up to his shift the next day. It was incredibly unlike Reki to miss a shift at Dope Sketch. With Saturday being the busiest day of the week for business, all the regulars would be in for tuneups and new gadgets. Langa had always liked to watch Reki at work, maintaining a board or enthusiastically talking to customers about the specifications of an item. He was in his element there, not to mention sales were always up when Reki was on the floor. 

“Morning, Langa. Reki won’t be here today, so if you get any tune ups just send ‘em my way.” Even the fox on manager Oka’s shoulder seemed to pity Langa. 

0

“Is he sick?” A seed of anxiety planted itself in Langa’s stomach. Even though they’d been fighting, Reki never missed a shift. If he wasn’t at work, then maybe Reki really was sick. It had already churned Langa’s stomach to see someone like Reki as unhappy as he had been these last few days since their fight. 

“Well he sure didn’t sound good. Try not to worry about him too much, okay? I’m sure he just needs a little rest and he’ll be fine.” Oka ruffling his hair did little to assuage his worry. “Besides, you should be focusing on the tournament tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah, you’re right…” With the somewhat obvious dismissal, Langa got to work. It was boring, a little repetitive without Reki by his side to lighten the mood of the store. Despite how busy the store was that day, the hours seemed to drone by, a million seconds dutifully marching into hours. It was odd, unloading new products without excited ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ to follow. Eventually the work day ended and he ran home to eat a quick dinner with his mother. His mother, whose worried eyes followed him around the home. It had been a long time since his mother looked at him with such worry, not since before he’d started skating and the grief of his father’s death lingered in every breath. Despite their earlier conversation, he still hadn’t been able to have a conversation at all with Reki, let alone be honest with his feelings. There was an ocean left unsaid, words splashing against his ribs in anxious waves, desperate to break unto shore yet meeting only with the thick stone of reluctance. Langa was being a coward and he knew it. Reki was avoiding him and he was avoiding admittance of the avalanche of feelings he held for his best friend.

Langa stopped by Reki’s house on the way to ‘S’, but tonight the window was closed, the lights off. Getting off his bike, Langa scooped a handful of pebbles from the sidewalk and threw the small stones at Reki’s window. It was cheesy. Reki had always liked cheesy before. After waiting for several minutes, Langa accepted defeat and headed towards Crazy Rock. After all, Reki might not even be home. At ‘S’, Miya was there to greet him, eyes darting back and forth looking for their missing piece. He would never admit it, but Miya had quite taken to Reki, latching on to his first real friend in years. 

“Hey, Slime. You ready to get your ass kicked?” There was jest in his voice veiled thinly over concern. Joe and Cherry’s gaze drifted towards him with a look he couldn’t quite decipher, settling somewhere between worry and fear. 

“Yeah, let’s do this.” Langa didn’t have to ask the others to know Reki hadn’t shown up. All he could hope for now was that somehow, somewhere, Reki was still watching the race. The weight of his pin sat heavily in his pocket. He would win this and convince Reki that he could do it safely, without breaking his promise. At this point he would have to— it was the only option. Was it too much to hope for to be up against Miya? 

“Good evening, my fellow skating enthusiasts,” Adam’s saccharine sweet voice boomed over the loudspeakers. “The tournament will soon draw to a close. Will tonight be the fateful night? Will I race against my dear Snow?...The first lucky skaters are Miya and...Snake!”

“Good luck, Miya.” It was barely a whisper. Not much was known about Snake other than that he was good. For many of the patrons of ‘S’, the tournament had been their first time seeing the skater. If he was so good, why hadn’t he been to ‘S’ sooner and why had he shown up now? At the very least, he didn’t seem to pose any danger to the other skaters like Adam did. 

Miya gave a short nod of his head and took his place at the start. A quick countdown and the two were off. Despite Miya’s obvious skill, it almost couldn’t be counted as a race with how far ahead of Miya Snake was skating. It was over before it even really began. Even with the loss, Miya seems strangely nonplussed, shrugging off defeat to the mystery skater with only a few bitter words. It was time for the next race. His name had been drawn along with Adam’s. 

There are times in one’s life when one finds themselves standing over a precipice of uncertainty. Something about this moment felt final to Langa; this was one of those times one could not takeu back, an action that cut deep in its betrayal. It was times like this Langa was forced to take another step forward into a life he wasn’t always prepared to live. Alone at the starting line with Adam at his side, miles away, yet still within reach. Despite how he had been waiting for this matchup, his heart was a stone in his chest. Could he really do this safely and win? Rubbing his fingers over the board's harsh grain to ground himself, Langa steeled himself to the course. He could do this.

“My sweet Eve, we will finish this race uninterrupted this time. Come, let us wander together through Eden.” Adam’s voice dripped with excitement, the same excitement Langa was searching for in this race. The crowd at ‘S’ watched with bated breath as the countdown began, the anticipation palpable even against the thick humidity of the night air. The electricity sung, urging him forward and there Langa was, taking off against Adam. 

Separate but syncopated, the two raced. Pulling through the dust and grime of ‘S’, Langa kept a close, careful distance to Adam. Adam had no such reservations of proximity, chasing Langa through the track. He found himself pulling more and more dangerous moves in order to evade him, to keep up, to chase the thrill that simply wouldn’t come...He was breaking his promise once again. Was Reki even out there watching? The race that should have been the most thrilling in his life felt dull, no matter the stunt, the height of the jump, Langa felt only the pang of nothingness. He and Adam were neck and neck through the factory, Adam careening over the finish line just feet in front of Langa.

Leaning over to catch his breath, a searing pain made itself known along his arm. Had he cut it during the race? Unwrapping the coverings over his soulmark, the world around him halted. The once brightly-colored wings of his soulmate were now a monotony of greys and black. Gone was the cheerful pull of a future he’d yet to seek. It was rare for soulmates to reject the bond; only a small percentage of people who were to find their soulmates would turn their back on the bond. Those who had the misfortune of a rejected bond, well, most never recovered from the break. His heart was drumming against his ribs, anxiety spiking as the silent comfort of color left him. 

“Langa! Langa, what’s wrong?” Joe and Miya ran over, concern etched on their features. “Are you hurt?”

“I-I don’t...” Choking out the words, Langa held up his arm.  _ How had this happened _ ?

“Oh, that’s too bad. Your little redhead shadow, was it? Reki? Perhaps this is for the best— after all, he was holding you back, Snow. Though your racing was rather uninspired tonight,” Adam cut in, seeming almost disinterested, but his words were a shock of cold water over Langa. Reki? Regardless of his mounting horror, the truth of the matter had settled heavy in his bones. Reki was his soulmate and the bond had been rejected.

“I no- I...I know I broke our promise, but this—This can’t be happening.” Tears welled up behind Langa’s eyes, stinging before falling. 

“How could you!” Miya’s hands grabbed at his collar, fury echoed in his eyes, his voice. “How could you not realize! You broke your promise? That's what this is, isn’t it? You broke your promise by skating against him! You chose Adam over Reki? How could you do that?”

“No, No I didn’t know Reki was my— I-I can fix this,” he said, rising on shaky legs, his tears flowing freely now. It made so much sense, how Reki had filled the gaps in his life so easily. It wasn’t skating that gave him the thrill, it was Reki. Reki whom he had rejected for the man who terrified him.  _ How could I be so stupid not to see it? Of course it’s Reki. _ Langa had never thought much about his soulmate, but he did think about Reki. The boy who had pulled him up and shown him how to fly. Reki with the sun in his eyes and enough determination to pull the stars from their place in the sky. His soulmate and Reki, who were one and the same. What had he returned to him except for pain?

“Reki is good and kind, and you...You  _ rejected _ him, Langa! Do you know what happens to people whose soulmates have rejected them!!” Miya was shaking now. Langa opened and closed his mouth. Where were the words he needed? Reki would know what to say here. Reki always knew how to help him. 

“I just need to talk to him. It’ll be  _ okay _ .” Langa’s words shook with uncertainty. 

“You can’t talk to him like this, Langa you need to calm down.” A warm palm settled itself on his shoulder. Joe’s steadying presence at his back only seemed to make him cry harder. His board lay forgotten in the dirt, and Miya was now gone.  _ What had he done. What had he done.  _ The weight of Langa’s love sinking, drowning in the grief, the loss of what had only just been realized. Clutching at the greyscale of his mark, Langa slid back to the ground. He would give anything to paint the mark again, he would turn in his board and badge in an instant if only the sun would shine again. That night, Langa’s world stopped turning, crossing into a finality of loss. The color drained of every facet of happiness he had managed to claw back for himself under the warm Okinawa sun. 

What had he done? 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos are appreciating :)


	3. Sunlight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uwu here I am with a new chapter!! Please enjoy :)

Reki hadn’t been there the next morning when Langa showed up at his house, tears and desperation rolling off of him in thick waves. He’d received only a swift kick to the shin from Koyomi, the oldest of Reki’s sisters, and tearful blame for her brother leaving. When the other hadn’t shown up at school the entirety of the next week, it wasn’t difficult to surmise that Reki wouldn’t be coming back to Okinawa. Miya’s anger hadn’t faded at all, and Joe, Cherry, and Shadow, while not harboring Miya’s ire, wouldn’t tell him anything about what had happened to Reki either. 

Even now, two years after Langa’s biggest mistake, the pain hadn’t faded any. He couldn’t help but wonder how Reki felt now. Was he happier? Did he still skate? He hoped more than anything that he did; to think he had robbed Reki of something he loved so much was unbearable. 

After that night at ‘S’, at the culmination of his misery, he told his mom the entire truth, about ‘S’, Adam, and rejecting Reki as his soulmate. Her anger at Langa doing something so dangerous faded when he’d shown her the faded colors of his soulmark. For the first time since he was a child, she held him while he cried. There were no comforting words or promises that everything would be okay, just the two of them and a gaping absence that neither could hope to fill. Time went by quickly, graduation passing with little celebration. His mother had baked him a cake, but he still couldn’t find it in him to put his heart into celebrating.

Laying around after graduation grew old fairly quickly, and to his great surprise, it was Miya who had forced him back into society. He was still angry at Langa, but the fragile truce between the two of them was steady, even in its uncertainty. 

“Slimes shouldn’t be wallowing all day,” Miya’s voice a shock of electricity in the stale air of the apartment, “but you’re not even a slime now, are you?”

“Miya! I— What are you doing here?” Gazing at Miya with wide eyes, Langa sat up from his place on the couch to see him more clearly, to make sure the boy was actually there. The fact that Miya would even spend an iota of his time around Langa was a surprise, let alone seek him out.

“Joe and Cherry are worried about you. You only leave here for work. That’s not healthy.” Miya was looking at him as if he were a puzzle he could solve. Maybe he was. It didn’t matter; he was missing all the important pieces. “You barely even skate anymore.” 

“I don’t have anything to go out for.” After his shifts, Langa often found himself cruising the streets, futilely searching for the echoes of laughter he lost long ago. Even the city itself seemed to mourn Reki’s loss, the bright colors and air of excitement dampening in the time after Reki had left. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it. I signed you up for an amateur skating competition. It’s two weeks from today. Pull your shit together so you don’t embarrass me.” Miya had done...what? How had he even managed to sign him up for a competition without him being there?

“Miya! You can’t just do that! I don’t skate like that anymore!” He was yelling now. Skating just wasn’t fun without Reki, how could he compete without him by his side? But then maybe if he did skate, Reki would watch him. It was a slim chance, but the hope remained.

“Yes, I can! I’m tired of seeing you sitting around here wasting away! You and I both know you have potential! Living like this isn’t what Reki would want for you!” The quiver in Miya’s voice gave him away. That made more sense, the fact that he was doing this out of obligation to Reki. Langa was no fool, he knew that Reki and Miya were still in frequent contact. He wondered if he had ever asked about him. “Also, your handwriting is absolute shit. No one ever questioned when I turned in your application for you because it was actually legible.” 

“How...How is Reki?” The question was silent, barely a whisper. 

“He’s  _ trying _ Langa, so now you need to, too.” He must be pretty awful if even Miya, Miya who had hated him the most came here to try to pick up his shattered pieces. More than that, Langa had his first hint about Reki in over a year. He was trying...Trying at what, exactly? Nonetheless, if Reki could find it within himself to forge ahead, he could too. 

“Okay, Miya...I’ll try.” And he meant it. If he had any hope of seeing Reki again, he would have to be something that more closely represented a human being rather than the train wreck he was on a good day.

After that, Miya started tolerating Langa’s presence again. Joe, Cherry, and Shadow had been supportive of him as well. He’d become the assistant manager of Dope Sketch in the year since Miya pushed him back out into society and often competed in tournaments, well on his way to becoming a pro skater. It had taken him some time to admit it, but starting therapy had been a hurdle he hadn’t wanted to cross. The therapy did help. He talked about everything— about his father, about skating, about the guilt he felt everytime he sat down to eat at Joe’s restaurant or whenever Miya taught him a new trick. To Langa, it felt as if he had shoved Reki out of the place he’d worked so hard to carve for himself. 

It wasn’t often, but Langa also visited Koyomi, always hoping every time he knocked on the door that it would be a different face smiling up at him, the ghost of a future he would never have. He was always instead greeted by long hair, warm eyes, and a smile that was never quite the one he wanted to see. As a rule, they never talked about Reki. It was always about school drama or work problems, but never about Reki. It hurt too much for either of them to bring it up. The one time he had tried to apologize to her, she had punched him so hard that he’d had a bruise for the next two weeks. He could never work up the nerve to try it again after that. 

It was another sweltering day in Okinawa, hot indoors even with the AC cranked up as high as it would go. Langa was on his own at Dope Sketch today. It being the middle of the week it was unbearably slow, and even cataloging the hulking new pile of inventory in the storage room was starting to look appealing, if only to have something to do. The bell above the door gave a soft chime. Looking up from where he was making aimless circles on the counter with his tech deck, Langa brightened.

“Hey Miya!” It wasn’t often that Miya came to see him at work, since he’d started getting his custom boards serviced elsewhere some time ago. “What are you doing here?”

“There’s a competition this weekend I want you to join. I know it’s last minute, but it's a walk on as a qualifier to a bigger tournament...It looks like it’ll be good press. Are you free?” 

“Yeah, I think I can swing it.” It wasn’t entirely unusual for Miya to throw competitions his way. “Where is it?” 

“It’s in Kyushu. Don’t worry about it, just be packed and ready by tomorrow. We gotta be there early.” Miya was looking around the store, at anything that wasn’t Langa. He seemed nervous. “I’m competing in the bigger competition on the second day.” 

He was gone in a huff before Langa could properly respond, the soft tinkling of the shop bells signaling his exit. The rest of the day passed uneventfully, only a handful of customers to occupy his time. That night he went home, packed, and tried to sleep. His dreams lately had become filled with Reki, and to see his smile, even if just in a dream, soon became Langa’s favorite thing. Here in dreams could he again feel the warmth of the sun, feel the joy of skating with Reki at his side. 

The morning came too early. It always came too early, pulling him from the cocoon of his dreams, pulling him away from Reki again. But in spite of the warm embrace of his dreams, today he had places to be. He and Miya had a competition to go to. Shoveling down a quick breakfast, Langa hurried to meet Miya at the airport. It was a short plane ride, Miya being unusually quiet, dying in his game far more frequently than the skilled player normally would. He must’ve really been on edge about this competition. Touchdown and a quick check in at their hotel later, they were on their way to the skate park. 

A firm grip on his arm ground Langa to a halt just before the entrance. Another city, another competition, another action that he couldn’t take back.

“Oi, Langa...Just don’t freak out, okay? And whatever you do,  _ don’t talk about what happened,” _ Miya practically hissed at him, the way he was holding his arm starting to hurt. What did he even mean? As soon as the odd remark had passed, they were moving again, feet heavy against the pavement. 

After two years Langa had not expected to see Reki at a packed skatepark in Kyushu. 

If he’d known, he would have dressed nicer than the jeans and t-shirt he’d thrown on. Yet there he was, a hymn of laughter ringing out clear over the park, haloed by the setting sun. Reki had grown in the two years he’d been away. Without his hoodie, Langa could see just how well he’d filled out. Simply put, Reki looked stunning, and with his breath caught in his throat, Langa kept walking towards him. Joe, Cherry, and even Shadow were there, stalled on their boards talking to Reki. Cherry’s eyes caught his first, opening wide in panic as he took a half-aborted step towards him, likely hoping to shoo Langa away before Reki could take notice of him. 

“Reki,” he breathed, a prayer to the pillar of joy standing, bright, beaming and real right in front of him. He had shunned the light for so long, it almost hurt to once again be in its presence. A joy he had not dared to hope could ever belong to him again.  _ Oh, so this is what Miya had meant by ‘don’t freak out’ _ . Judging by Cherry’s reaction, Miya hadn’t told anyone he would be coming. Langa wasn’t sure which was worse, the gap between him and Reki, glaring up at him despite the few feet of distance between him, or the lecture he would certainly be receiving from Cherry later. 

At the mention of his name, Reki turned to face him, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. Truth be told, he had. The ghost of a past he thought he’d outrun. 

“Langa. What are you doing here?” Reki’s voice had gotten lower since they’d last seen each other. Langa wanted to drown in it. It was the sea crashing against the rough cliff of the shore, every bit as steady as Langa was uncertain now gazing at Reki.

“What  _ are _ you doing here?” Cherry’s voice cut in. Langa was flooded with the sensation that he was a little late to the party, but it filled him with warmth nonetheless to know that apparently everyone else had been seeing Reki over the two years of his absence. Reki hadn’t been alone, and that’s all that mattered. Cherry, Joe, and Shadow had crowded their way next to Reki, looking as if they could guard against him. 

“I’m here to skate with Miya.” It was almost laughable— Miya who had hated him the most for what he’d done to Reki had dragged him out to this competition where he knew his soulmate would be. Miya had done this for him. No wonder he seemed so nervous on the plane, likely steeling himself for the wrath of the others, for having to face Reki after dragging Langa back into his life. Reki was glaring at Miya, who now had sheepishly averted his gaze. 

“Miya, can I talk to you?” With little preamble, Reki dragged Miya away. Even after two years, he could see the tension lining Reki’s body. Oh no, Reki was freaking out. This wasn’t how he would want their first encounter to go. For Reki, who outshined the stars and could stifle the sun for all his warmth, anything other than a startling confidence looked out of place on him...Langa would build wings to reach him too, crafted of wax and love. Langa would gladly fall and shatter to grasp at even a sliver of his warmth. 

“Kid, what the hell is going on?” Joe rarely ever sounded so serious. He wished he could give a good answer, but the truth was he was just as baffled as they were. 

“You’ll have to ask Miya, I was just brought here for the competition.” He couldn’t help but glance back at Reki, who was now wildly gesticulating at a defensive-looking Miya. “Honest, if I’d known Reki would be here then I wouldn’t have come...I don’t want to hurt him again...I won’t lie though, I’m glad to see him. He looks good.” 

“Yeah, he does, doesn’t he?” Pride seeped through Joe’s voice and Langa’s heart swelled.

“We’re still going to talk about this later.” Cherry looked at him with apprehension, but he at least didn’t appear like he wanted to murder Langa anymore.

Reki and Miya rejoined the group. Despite how warm the day was, Langa felt only ice gathering among their friends. Reki gave him a long appraising look. Though giving a staunch air of confidence, the trembling of his hands betrayed him. It was a small comfort to know Reki was just as nervous as he was, but the fear of rejection, of Reki walking away wrapped itself around Langa’s heart. 

“Let’s just skate, right? That’s what we’re all here for.” Reki didn’t linger, putting down his board and kicking off away from Langa. It was a new board, one that Langa didn’t have time to appreciate as Reki faded from the group, Joe close behind him. Transfixed on the sight of his soulmate skating once again, he felt like things might just turn out okay. 


End file.
